Automated Logistics

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Logistics automation is the application of computer software and / or automated machinery to improve the efficiency of logistics operations. Typically this refers to operations which happen within a warehouse or distribution center.

Logistics automation systems can powerfully complement the facilities provided by these higher level computer systems. The focus on an individual node within a wider logistics network allows systems to be highly tailored to the requirements of that node.

Logistics automation systems comprise a variety of hardware and software components:

Fixed machinery

v Automated cranes (also called automated storage and retrieval systems): provide the ability to input and store a container of goods for later retrieval to a pick face location. Typically cranes allow many levels of stock to be stacked vertically, and allowing far high storage densities and better space utilisation than alternatives. Automated storage and retrieval systems use cranes to store and retrieve identified cases or pallets, typically into a highbay storage system which would be unfeasible to access using fork-lift trucks or any other means.

v Conveyors: automated conveyors allow the input of containers in different areas of the warehouse.

v Sortation systems: similar to conveyors but typically have higher capacity and can divert containers more quickly which are typically used to distribute high volumes of small cartons to a large set of locations.

v Industrial Robots which are four to six axis industrial robots, e.g. palletizing robots, are used for palletizing, depalletizing, packaging and order picking. Typically all of these will automatically identify and track containers based upon barcodes, or increasingly, RFID (radio frequency identification) tags.

Mobile technology

v Radio data terminals: these are hand held or truck mounted terminals which connect wirelessly to logistics automation software and provide instructions to operators moving throughout the warehouse. Many also have in-built barcode scanners to allow identification of containers.

Software

v Integration software: this provides overall control of the automation machinery and, for instance, allows cranes to be connected up to conveyors for seamless stock movements.

v Operational control software: provides low-level decision making, such as where to store incoming containers, and where to retrieve them when requested.

v Business Control software: provides higher level functionality, such as identification of incoming deliveries / stock and scheduling order fulfilment, assignment of stock to outgoing trailers.

(edited from http://wikipedia.org)

3. Answer the following questions.

1. At what stage of logistics operations is automation most typically applied?

2. What are the main components of logistics automation system?

3. What is the main purpose of using fixed machinery?

4. What is RFID? What is it used for?

5. What is the difference between operational control software and business control software?

4. In each group, underline the word which does not have a similar meaning to the other two words. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

1. node centre network

2. unfeasible impossible possible

3. input pick retrieve

4. seamless non-stop interrupted

5. overall separate holistic

6. arriving incoming outgoing

7. fail complete fulfill

5. Match the verbs on the left to the phrases on the right. Use the text to help you. Make sure you know the meaning of these collocations.

1. to comprise

2. to complement

3. to tailor

4. to stack

5. to divert

6. to retrieve

7. to assign

8. to schedule

a. the stock vertically

b. order fulfillment

c. a number of components

d. containers

e. the system to the requirements

f. facilities

g. products to a pick face location

h. the stock to trailers

6. Think of examples of automation application at every stage of logistics operations: from supplier to customer. Complete the table.

Supply Chain Link	Automation Example
Manufacturing
Transportation
Warehousing
Inventory
Distribution
Marketing

Language Focus: Grammar

1. In the text “Automated Logistics” on p.1 underline the sentences which contain relative clauses.

2. Make one sentence from two using a relative clause. The first one was done for you.

Note: In a relative clause use a preposition + whom (people)/which (things).

1. This is the invoice. I told you about it. This is the invoice about which I told you. This is the invoice which I told you about. (less formal)

2. Mr. Brail is interested in our plan. I spoke to him on the phone yesterday.

3. Finally our order arrived. We had been waiting for it.

4. Fill in the claim. You can’t get a refund without it.

5. The meeting took place last Friday. Only the top managers were invited to it.

6. Jill works for XL Logistics now. I worked for the same company 2 years ago.

7. Give me the reports. You have already looked through them.

3. a) Write sentences with all of/most of/ etc… + whom/which. Use the sentence in brackets to make a relative clause. The first one was done for you.

1. I have three brothers. (All of my brothers are logisticians). I have three brothers, all of whom are logisticians.

2.We were given a lot of information. (Most of the information was useless.)

3. There were a lot of people at the conference. (I had met only a few of these people before.)

4. I have sent Mr. Lewis 2 claims. (He received neither of these claims.)

5. Ten people applied for the job. (None of these people were suitable.)

6. Our company purchased 2 warehouses. (We hardly ever use one of them.)

b) Make up your own sentences using the grammatical structure below.

whom (people)

which (things)

4. Join a sentence from Box A with a sentence from Box B to make a new sentence. Use which. The first one was done for you.

1. Our flight was delayed which means that we would be late for the conference.

2. _______________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________________________

5. _______________________________________________________________

6. _______________________________________________________________

7. _______________________________________________________________

5. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Скорость, с которой будет доставлен товар, зависит от места назначения и маршрута.

2. Они заключили контракт с компанией XL Logistics, с которой уже давно сотрудничают.

3. Та девушка, о которой я тебе рассказывал, - наш новый секретарь.

4. Во многих магазинах находятся сканеры, без которых невозможно считать информацию со штрих-кодов.

5. У нашей компании есть три складских помещения, два из которых мы используем очень редко.

6. Мы используем конвейеры, все они автоматически распознают и контролируют движение контейнеров.

7. Этот склад находится недалеко от железнодорожной станции, что очень удобно.

8. Многие логистические компании используют специальную технику и программное обеспечение, что позволяет оптимизировать процесс инвентаризации.

Reading 2

1. a) What is E-Commerce? What do you associate the word with? What does ‘e-’ stand for?

b) Have you ever bought anything online? What are the positive/negative aspects of such kind of shopping? Share your experience with the group.

2. Read the text to learn more about E-Commerce and enlarge the list of your associations.

E-Commerce

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The 'electronic' or 'e' in e-commerce refers to the technology/systems; the 'commerce' refers to be traditional business models. E-commerce is the complete set of processes that support commercial business activities on a network.The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown dramatically since the wide introduction of the Internet. A wide variety of commerce is conducted in this way, including things such as electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), automated inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. A small percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for "virtual" items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce eventually involves physical items and their transportation in at least some way.

Many successful e-tailers deal with digital products, (including information storage, retrieval, and modification), music, movies, education, communication, software, photography, and financial transactions. Examples of this type of company include: Google, eBay and Paypal. Virtual marketers can sell some non-digital products and services successfully. Items which can fit through a standard letterbox — such as music CDs, DVDs and books — are particularly suitable for a virtual marketer, and indeed Amazon.com, one of the few enduring dot-com companies, has historically concentrated on this field. Products such as spare parts, both for consumer items like washing machines and for industrial equipment like centrifugal pumps, also seem good candidates for selling online. A factor for success in this niche can consist of providing customers with exact, reliable information about which part number their particular version of a product needs, for example by providing parts lists keyed by serial number. Products less suitable for e-commerce include products that have a low value-to-weight ratio, products that have a smell or taste component, products that need trial fittings — most notably clothing — and products which are perishable. Nonetheless, Tesco.com has had success competing with flesh-and-blood retailers delivering groceries in the UK, and clothing sold through the Internet is big business in the U.S.

Naturally, the e-commerce vendor must also perform such mundane tasks as being truthful about its product and its availability, shipping reliably, and handling complaints promptly and effectively. A unique property of the Internet environment is that individual customers have access to far more information about the seller than they would find in a brick-and-mortar situation.

(edited from http://wordiq.com)

3. Read the following statements. Say if they are true or false. Correct the false ones.

1. E-commerce is a traditional way of conducting a business with the addition of new technologies.

2. E-commerce works only with selling entirely virtual items.

3. Amazon.com deals mostly with digital services such as financial transactions.

4. Spare parts are not suitable for selling online, because you can never be sure if they are compatible with your equipment.

5. Some e-commerce vendors successfully sell food and clothes online.

6. One of the advantages of e-commerce is that you can always find information about the dot-com company and decide whether it is trustful or not.

4. In the text, find 4 expressions meaning “sellers providing online services”, and 2 expressions standing for “companies serving customers in a physical facility”.

_______________________ _________________________

_______________________

5. a) Find these words in the text, match them with their synonyms.

1. conduct a. everyday, routine

2. enduring b. field, sphere

3. mundane c. administer, run

4. promptly d. quickly, at once

5. niche e. food, drinks

6. groceries f. long-lived, prosperous

b) Use the words in your own contexts.

6. a) Individually, read the opinions some people have on e-commerce and the problems that may arise when shopping online. Pay special attention to the words in bold.

b) Work in pairs, discuss possible solutions to the problems.

c) Choose one of the aspects and make up a dialogue.

Language Focus: Vocabulary

1. a) Fill in the missing verbs or nouns into the correct gaps.

VERB	NOUN
	RETRIEVAL
SURVEY
MOVE
	LOCATION
ASSIGN
	COMPLAINT

b) Choose a pair of words (verb-noun) and use them in a sentence of your own as in the example.

Automatic retrieval systems help to retrieve the containers to a pick face location.

2. a) Match the following words to make verb-noun collocations.

to conduct	stock
to interchange	complaints
to pick	trade
to assign	funds
to transfer	container
to retrieve	data
to handle	order

b) Explain in English what these expressions mean.

3. Paraphrase the following sentences replacing the underlined phrases with the words from the box below. Make all the necessary changes.

1. Upgrade your membership – only $23.99 a month and you will get access to lots of extra information.

2. Bluetooth is a technology that does not need any direct connection.

3. If you buy anything online, you should inquire how the company deals with situations if the product doesn’t suit you.

4. One of the most frequent crimes in e-commerce is stealing money from credit card.

5. Automated cranes are usually used in storage places where retrieving high bay containers is not possible for a man.

6. The main objective of the SCM optimization is ensuring a smooth logistics flow.

7. A trustful logistics partner is the one that can provide efficiency and security while transporting.

Listening

1. What is RFID? What does each letter in the abbreviation stand for? What is it used for?

2. a) Look at the pictures. Guess what might have provoked such a backlash (negative reaction).

b) Listen to the news report to see if your guesses were right.

c) Before you listen, make sure you know the meanings of the following words. Think how they can be related to RFID.

3. Listen to the recording again and choose the correct variant.

1. Katherine Albrecht is

a) a consumer advocate b) a US Senator

2. CASPIAN is

a) a supermarket b) a consumer rights organization

3. The consumer protest was against

a) Gillette b) Tesco

4. The product boycott took place in

a) England b) the USA

5. CASPIAN members refer to RFID as

a) a ‘smart shelf’ b) a ‘spy chip’

4. Think about the positive and negative aspects of using RFID. Fill in the table below.

Positive aspects	Negative aspects

5. Summarize the information presented in the report using the following words and word combinations.

v consumer protest

v spy chips

v surveillance

v to affix to the product

v to deter shoplifting

v to remain functional

v not to be aware of the presence

v to report on the whereabouts

v credit card / loyalty card

v deduce the identity

v privacy

Writing

1. Read the following example of a complaint letter, paying attention to the words in bold. Discuss what points are included into it. Divide the letter into paragraphs.

2. You have bought something online that doesn’t suit you for some reason. Write a similar letter explaining the problem and expressing your request.

Speaking: Now You

1. a) Work in groups of 4. Think of a company that sells products online. Choose one to your liking (you don’t have to choose from the range presented here).